It was about time that I post a Pizza recipe from scratch and today I am doing that by sharing my Mini Pizza Recipe with Mushrooms!
I took ages because we had a little yeast problem here.
Well, you see I wasn’t the only one trying to solve the yeast issue and so to get the yeast dough to rise as it is suppose to.
I might have been miserable in cooking during my college education but I certainly never ever encountered a malheure with yeast doughs at the time, so the mistake couldn’t have been mine.
Yet, I was deeply ashamed when it happened the first time and again and again… “Luckily” I wasn’t alone and our friend and french pastry expert here was hitting her head on the wall, because her yeast dough didn’t want to rise either.
This had to be changed and we were on a mission!
She tried to get some fluffy yeast dough done with french yeast.
It didn’t work.
I tried with Indian yeast many times before and let’s just say they shouldn’t sell this stuff if it’s not working!
Then I got some German fresh yeast and dry yeast back in November and the whole scene started to change, finally something was moving and the dough was rising!
At that point I had included a new tactic by keeping the dough in a preheated oven and that might have triggered the solution at the same time.
The fresh yeast of course was working miracles and the dough almost reached it’s normal rising size, just the way I was used to in Europe, but and here comes the but, the fresh yeast couldn’t be stored for too long.
So for now I still have a few dry yeast packets from Europe and they have been working pretty fine.
Of course nothing grows as much as it does in Europe but it works out nevertheless.
Now apparently high humidity is suppose to be good for the rising of yeast, yet I heard other sources say something else so I am still confused.
The difference between Europe and India could be the flour quality, but that’s something I am not an expert in.
It’s just too difficult to say which flour is more suitable for the rising of yeast…
I wanted to mention as well that Rosa from Rosa’s Yummy Yums helped me via @Twitter in the time of need and she was so kind to share a pizza dough recipe but somehow I can’t find the recipe anymore.
Also Dassana from Veg Recipes of India helped me with her knowledge and Indian expertise.
Thank you ladies!
- 250 grams White Flour
- ½ packet dry Yeast a 3.5 grams or ¼ cube fresh yeast a 10 grams
- Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 125 milliliter luke warm water
- about 60 milliliter Tomato Sauce or 4 tablespoons
- Pizza herb seasoning
- pinch Salt
- pinch Pepper
- about 4 medium sized mushrooms
- grated Cheese
- dash Olive Oil
- To make the pizza dough add the flour, yeast and salt into a mixing bowl and blend the dry ingredients.
- Make a small well into the center of the flour mixture and add the Olive Oil and warm water.
- Mix the whole content with your clean hands and place it onto a working surface. Now work out your dough with some extra flour so that the ingredients are well incorporated and you should have a smooth non sticky dough at the end.
- Make a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl, sprinkle some flour equally on top and cover with a cloth or plastic wrap. At this point I heat up my oven for a few seconds until it is nice warm inside, put it off and keep the bowl with the dough inside the warm oven for about 1 hour or until the dough has risen double in size.
- Take out your big fat dough and work it out shortly with your clean hands and some flour. If you want square mini pizza, just roll out the whole dough and cut out squares as shown. Repeat the process until all dough is used. If you want round ones then just make a big fat sausage and cut it into pieces as shown.
- I decided to go for the round ones here. Take a piece, flatten it or roll it into a roundish shape and keep it aside. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
- Preheat your oven to 220 Celcius!
- Now let's add some topping. Spread some tomato sauce on top then sprinkle the pizza herb, salt and pepper. Place the sliced mushrooms on top of that, grated cheese and add a few drops of olive oil to keep it a bit moist.
- Bake it a 220 Celcius for about 8-10 minutes or until the mini pizze got some colors.
Sissi says
Helene, for me these mini-pizzas look perfect. Well done! I do make pizza from time to time but I always eat such huge amounts of it… and cannot make myself do just a small batch. I have had more problems with fresh yeast than dried yeast, which is easier to work with in my opinion. I am sure the flour can be an issue. Did you know that most French bakeries around the world import flour from France? I suppose that maybe any European flour works better in pizza than Indian, but then as I said, I see no faults in your cute pizzas! Can I come with a bottle of wine tonight?
Helene Dsouza says
lol yeah please come, we would have a blast sissi!
I hadn’t known that they import flour from France, that’s quite interesting! I ll show that my friend, they are leaving soon to France so maybe they could bring some for testing. If you want more then you just have to double the ingredients amounts =D. I personally prefer fresh yeast, I learned to work with fresh yeast only and teachers too were convinced that fresh yeast was easier to handle. I think that’s a Austrian story with the fresh yeast.
tanja@tanjascookingcorner says
I also think the flour might caouse the rising problem, but I am not sure. Your mini pizzas look very tempting, I really like your mushroom topping. I would so like to have a bite now! 🙂
I am making pizza regularly, especially when our friends come on the weekends, there is nothing more relaxing than a tasty slice of pizza, a beer (a glass of wine for me :-), and good friends to chat with!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Helene Dsouza says
Couldn’t agree more Tanja! =)
I feel too that it might be the flour because when we make for example strudel in Austria, we rarely need to add an egg to make it more flexible (Tropfteig). Here I realized I better add an egg or the dough won’t stretch properly and holes get formed (you know the strudel story right). So that is why I got the idea too that flour might be the issue. I wonder how it is in other countries in this world.
Joanne says
Mini pizzas are so much fun! These look great.
Azlin Bloor says
Sounds like you had a great time in the kitchen, nevertheless! Part of the fun is always trying to solve a problem, isn’t it?
Liz says
I am so glad you have some functional yeast…finally! Everyone should be able to make homemade pizza…yours looks divine!
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes says
I´ve made a lot of pizza doughs in my life, but I´ve yet to find the perfect one. These minis look wonderful Helene! And sometimes yeast doesn´t work for reasons that elude us. I usually proof it first to make sure I won´t need to throw the whole dough later.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
Your pizzas look really good. I always test my yeast before adding it to the flour. I mix it with the water and a sprinkle of sugar and wait. If it grows in about 5 minutes, I’m happy. If it doesn’t, I haven’t wasted the flour. I’ve never made dough in India though. 🙂
Helene Dsouza says
I forgot to mention but while testing the german yeast, it always indicated that it is working so it is not the yeast.
john@kitchenriffs says
Great looking pizza! I haven’t made homemade in ages – I need to again. Sorry to hear about your yeast problems – I think maybe the flour might be the problem. Yeast is pretty sturdy stuff. We buy instant yeast by the pound, and keep it in the freezer – it’ll last for years (we normally use the SAF brand). Hope you can figure out your problem so you can make more pizza!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Yeast is pretty tricky! But this mini pizza’s turned out so delish!
mjskit says
I actually love thin and crispy pizza crust! These little pizza look delicious and I would love at least 2, maybe 4 for lunch. 🙂 I’m going to add to Maureen’s comment, that sugar actually aids in activating yeast while salt inhibits it. So when you;re proofing your yeast, add sugar to the water. Wait and add the salt after you’ve proofed the yeast. It works for me. 🙂
Terra says
YAY for pizza!!!!! Pizza is the best dinner, or snack choice:-) I love that you made them into mini pizzas, and you added one of my favorite topping choices! Yum, Hugs, Terra
Christina says
Awesome pizzas, but being a mushroom lover, I will add more mushrooms to your recipe! Thanks for sharing it.